Digimon Link D Rewrite
by James95
Summary: A rewrite of one of my old fanfics. Set in a world like our own, Several kids find themselves in the middle of a forest full of cybernetic trees, blue grass and strange monsters of all shapes, sizes and data types. Join Shannon, her digimon partner and her friends as they navigate through the trials and tribulations so they can find their way home. Arc 1: Zodiac War in the Woods.
1. Chapter 1

**Digimon Link D Rewrite**

**By**

**James95**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters. If I did, I think Fusion would be a massively different beast.**

Chapter 1: One Wrong Shortcut – Shannon's Story

Sometimes, in this great big world, the most amazing moments in history begin with a mundane action. Newton was reading his books before gravity dropped a red delicious on his head. Archimedes was merely playing in the bath. Shelley thought that a scary story contest with her friends would help pass the rainy day. Sometimes, things just happen amidst utter mundanity.

In fact, right now, in classroom 107 of St Sergius' High school inside the City of Neighbourhoods itself, there was one person desperate for the tedium to end, scratching at the door for the end of day bell. Then again, this was a Friday, and everyone was looking forward to getting out of there. It wasn't the spiky haired boy staring out of the window nor the punk at the back of the room leaning on his chair, causing the back legs to squeak in pain, begging for a sweet release.

Seated at the desk closest to the door was a teenage girl in the final semester of her freshman year. Where there would usually be meticulously curled thick locks of chestnut hair were replaced with a frizzy mop of brown with strands jutting out all over the place. The bags under her dark blue eyes devoid of her usual positivity. Her head rested in her left hand to stop the throbbing of her temple. It was official; Shannon Jones was a mess.

"-iss Jones? … Miss Jones."

Shannon jolted a little as the teacher's question brought her out of her empty train of thought. She gave a little sigh with closed eyes before looking up at Mr Brooks as he stared at her with a disapproving raised brow. "Sorry sir, what was the question?"

The greying, balding man in a tweed jacket tutted before turning back to the novel in his hand; the same one that all the students had, if a little more dog-eared than the others. "As I asked you already, Shannon, what is the purpose of Tilney's confession to Catherine regarding his father's true crime?"

Feeling each word drip onto her head, Shannon nodded once to herself, looking over the page before responding to the teacher and her tuned out classmates. "Well, it feels as if, when you factor in the text's satirical nature, Austen wanted to prove that, no matter what supposedly horrific thing came from the pages of the gothic novels of the time, there-," she stopped, stifling a yawn before smiling with shame. "Sorry. I was going to say that, regardless of appearance, the true monsters of the world are presented through their actions. That there are more evil deeds in the world than what we can imagine."

Mr Brooks nodded before turning back to the board. "An interesting interpretation, Shannon. Good reference of Austen's relationship with the gothic as well."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Shannon tilted her head downward only for it to jolt up as the clanging noise of synthesised brass bells followed by the scraping of chairs on the wooden floors. She packed her stuff away, tuning out from her teacher's reminder of the assignment for net week and got up, hurrying out of the class. She felt a light weight fall from her person as she walked out but all she could focus on was getting to the bathroom and the clothes in her bag. Even the background noise of students was muffled to her ears. Well, all except one voice that stood out. A voice that came from behind her, deep and louder with every moment it drew nearer.

"Hey. Hey, Shannon. Shannon!"

Breaking out of her zone, Shannon turned around and looked down to see a familiar, dark-skinned hand hold out her phone.

The owner of said hand, a young man by the name of Dwight, had one brow raised on his stony face. "You dropped your phone. Again. Managed to get this off the floor before Dan stepped on it."

Shannon looked away for a moment, giving off a nervous chuckle before taking the phone from Dwight's hand. "Thanks, D. Sorry again." She stopped before putting the phone back in her uniform blazer pocket. "Wait. Swimming Dan or Heavyweight Dan?"

"Heavyweight. Believe me, if Swimmer Dan stepped on it, you'd hear his whining by now." Dwight walked ahead of her before eyeing the extra bag strapped around her shoulder and chest. "I take it you're going to see him today?"

Shannon nodded as she resumed walking, catching up to Dwight in little time. "Well, it has been a week since… you know… and I did promise Bill that I'd meet Corporal Hernandez and him today for dinner. It would be rude if I just didn't turn up, right? I mean, they just came back from deployment. Pretty sure someone would have my head."

Dwight tilted his head as a look of concentration appeared on his face. The first few times he did this, Shannon had thought that the weight of his head would topple him. "He does have a first name, right?"

Shannon let out a short puff of air followed by a groan as she side-stepped past a few of the cheerleaders on their way to practice. "I know. It's just… it's been a lot to take in. Mom and Dad haven't made it any easier."

"The fact that your brother's marrying one of his squad-mates?"

Shannon looked down at him, mouth open and eyes close to brandishing daggers. "No. I mean a little bit but… I mean, why Bill never told me that he and Marco were going out I couldn't understand. My parents, yes, but me? And the first time he mentions it, he's already proposed? Trust me, if I wasn't so ticked off at my parents, he would be getting a piece of my mind. I mean, if he didn't visit, I probably wouldn't have even met the guy until the day of the wedding."

Dwight laughed. "You know, when you get angry, your mouth looks like a cat's backside?" He looked up, chuckling as Shannon's mouth puckered from his words. "See?" He stopped by the door to the girl's bathroom right next to where the cheap white paint was flaking of by the door handle. "Relax, Shan'. You'll be fine. I'll wait out here whilst you get changed and we'll take the bus to Fed' Hill. You're meeting them at the sushi place there, right?"

"No, Marco apparently wanted to go to that British style fish and chip place that just opened up. And thanks." Shannon walked into the bathroom, grabbed a stall and proceeded to get changed. As she was mid-way in putting her jeans on, she spaced out a little, her hand clenching into a fist as the argument between Bill and their parents replayed in her mind. If she didn't know any better, it felt like the words somehow became mushier to distinguish yet weighed her down further to the floor every time this happened. She shook her head. She was not by the top of the steps. She was in the bathroom at her school. They were just memories now. They weren't there. It was just in her head; her frizzy, dry mess of a head. After she finished getting ready, she headed to the sinks where there were mirrors. Unfortunately, there were no outlets, so she braced herself with a brush and a spray can for the battle of a lifetime; her hair.

Twenty minutes later, the hallways were bare, and Dwight was grumbling, checking his watch for what felt like the hundredth time before the bathroom door opened and Shannon walked out. Gone was her uniform and, in its place, was a nice little smart-casual number with brown ankle boots but what Dwight was genuinely surprised at was the hair. What was once a brown puffball was a 'do that made him think of cabaret and those old Hollywood pictures she and him researched for a play they helped with, complete with a pencilled-in beauty mark on her left cheek. He wouldn't say it, but he was impressed. One part did raise a brow though. "What's with the jacket?"

Shannon looked down, brushing her hands on the garment in question; a thick khaki jacket with metallic buttons and black, decorative shoulder pads which were a blade or two away from starring in a Mad Max movie. "What? I thought I'd be easy to spot. It's a nice coat."

"You'll be easy to see alright. Along with the parade of limbs you've sliced off people with those great big shoulder pads of death."

Shannon chuckled with a coy smile. "You're lucky we need to get the bus, Mr Charles, otherwise you'd be suspended on the flagpole by now."

Dwight shrugged. "Guess I'd have it coming. If I needed to come down, I'd use those pads to cut the rope."

Shannon groaned before pulling out her phone. "Come on, ten minutes."

"Yes, ma'am."

Eventually, after a moderate bus ride complete with at least one guy taking out his glass eye to polish it, the two arrived at Federal Hill Park. From the moment she stepped out, Shannon smelt the salt air from the harbour just across from the entrance. There were several people she could see from the entrance. The sounds of young children's screams of joy as they swished between the trees and the tubes of the slides. The chatter of the mothers clearly on their second gulp of "jogging juice", judging by the volume of their screeching laughter. As she and Dwight walked further in and upwards, they passed a group of four people having a picnic, one particularly angry young girl channelling all her rage down the speaker in her phone and, amongst the play equipment, a girl who Shannon recognised from her class playing with a boy who looked around eight or so. She looked about their age with glasses, a brown ponytail and a face which tried too hard to smile. Shannon took the chance and nudged Dwight.

"What was that for?"

She pointed over to the girl who was currently taking off a blazer like the school one Shannon had in one of her bags. "Isn't that Rosa? You know, the one from Biology."

Dwight looked over before nodding. "I think so. Guess that's her little brother with her. She was the one who gave that tai chi demonstration for the talent show, right? Figures since they do classes up here." He looked at Shannon. "Why did you ask?"

Shannon shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe she'd like to buy a ticket. Not too often you get to watch a movie outdoors. Might be a bit more money in it for you."

Dwight looked in Rosa's direction for a moment before shaking his head. "Pass. She'd probably want something that'd keep that brother of hers occupied for an hour or two." He walked alongside Shannon for a while before a humming noise filled the air. Before either of them stopped to wonder what was causing the sound, they were both hit with a flash of white light, causing them both to rub their closed eyes with a balled-up hand. "What was that?" Dwight asked before letting a short, breathy silent groan out. "Man, that stung."

"Tell me about it." Shannon blinked as she opened her eyes. As far as she could see, everyone around them had not followed their example but seemed to carry on with their day. "Strange." Her train of thought was stopped before it left the station when the voices of two guys calling out Dwight's name, as well as the nickname 'Half-pint', tore through the air. The two had reached a fork in the path. One led back down to the bottom of the hill and the gate out to the harbour's yacht spot and the place where she'd meet Bill and… his fiancée.

The other path led to the centre of the park where, amidst the trees, three guys and two girls were busy with setting up what looked like a silver audio box, a food vendor and a large, white canvas-like screen which stretched from one large, pristine oak to the next in front of a cornered-off area where the paying viewers would be laying their blankets in an hour or two before getting lost in turmoil between a roman emperor and his Egyptian queen. The voices came from two of the boys plugging cables from the audio box into a generator and projector or, judging by their crouched stature, they were failing to untangle the mess of plastic covered wiring.

Dwight sighed, waving a hand at the duo before turning behind to face Shannon, a grimace appearing on his face at the sound of that nickname. "Looks like my stop. Better get going before Andre yanks out the wires." He began walking away backwards before pointing at his watch. "Don't forget, we're showing the film at seven. We'll give them a military discount."

Shannon smiled. "Will do, D. See you later, wish me luck."

Dwight laughed. "Wish you luck? Shannon, I'm all the luck you need."

She stopped when she heard those last six words. They seemed a bit off. Shaking her head, she walked the more travelled road, her curiosity about the flash of light from earlier blanked out with how she was going to start the conversation. Jokey? Sombre? Excited? She had no clue. Thinking about it, what would she say? What could she say? Sorry? Part of her wanted to sprint back and take the next bus home. She found that piece of her and, with a little slap on her cheek, she buried it deep down in her head. After all, she made a promise. She then stopped in the middle of the path, stepping to the side to let a mother and pram trundle past before taking in a deep breath, holding it and exhaling. Nodding to herself, she resumed her journey along the scuffed up, tarmacked trail. As she did, she took her next step, gasped and fell on her backside when her boot sunk through the path as if it were made of treacle. She jumped back, heels clacking on the trail as the place where she stepped began to glow green with lines of ones and zeros. Breath catching in her throat, Shannon swallowed before stepping back, giving a small yelp as the green lines stretched out further, inching towards her like green stringy lava. With each step she took it grew closer and closer before she broke off into a run back down the path.

Finding herself back at the fork, Shannon ran towards the other turn straight to the screen setup. In her haste, she spotted Dwight fiddling with the box. "Dwight! Dwight!" she yelled before turning back. She gasped. The green lines seemed thicker, spreading outwards and upward to the trees and the bushes behind her.

"Shan'? What're you-?" Dwight looked up, jumping down from his seat as he saw the lines approaching him as fast as Shannon was going. That was, until she fell, left shoulder and head hitting the tarmac before he broke out into a run towards her, caring little about the oncoming lines. "Shannon? Shannon!? Can you hear me?"

Dazed, Shannon looked up to see Dwight's face; his wide-eyed, gaunt face present before it was overcome by the lined of ones and zeroes which appeared on him like a thin net. Thinking for a second, dread collected in her stomach like a lead weight. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. All she felt was the throbbing pain on her head, the scuffs on her hands and the green lines as they crawled up her skin with the buzz of pop rocks sprayed with soda, before they invaded her mouth, conquered the tongue and slid down her throat. All she could do was stare at Dwight for what seemed like an eternity, unable to move or utter a single sound until, like before, a light flashed bright as lit magnesium only this time, the flash engulfed them. Now, she didn't feel the ground underneath her, only air as she fell, silently screaming until she felt a thud, and all fell to black.

**Well, dear readers, I hope you enjoyed that opener. Hopefully, Shannon is safe. The question is what awaits her when she wakes up? Tune in next time for the next Chapter of Digimon Link-D Rewrite; The Forest Locker.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Digimon Link D Rewrite**

**By**

**James95**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters. If I did, perhaps Yolei and Cody would have gotten the crests more suited to them in Adventure 02.**

Chapter 2: The Green Locker – Shannon and C-113's Story

_ When C-113 first entered the Forest zone, the air stunk of freshly shorn data from the blue grass that rustled between his clawed, gunmetal grey toes to the tops of the trees which blanketed the terrain. In this moment of peace, he was glad just to be able to untie himself from the tree branches and continue his mission. Two days into the job and, if it wasn't for the scurrying of the monsters on the forest floor and the hum of wings above in the sky, this would have become very dull. Regardless, the Brigade needed whatever it was that fell from the sky. He stopped in his tracks, pulling out his tracker; a small, black device with a green light tuned to the frequency of the target object's energy readings. The trail had gone cold yesterday, he continued his search. If he hadn't, who knew what Lieutenant S-4 would do to him. He walked forward, raising the tracker and waving it in the air in front of him, hoping for something, anything. At that moment, the sky appeared to light up with different coloured lights; greens, blues, reds and white. C-113 brought his helmet over to shield his eyes as he turned away. Soon enough, as quick as it appeared, the lights faded. Rubbing his eyes with his right hand, C-113 had to blink several times before his vision returned to normal. Around him, he could hear the faint sounds of other Digimon. In accordance with his better judgement, be resumed walking._

_ … Bleep._

_ C-113 looked up at his left arm, pointing east, at the tracker which was giving a quiet but significant ring. He tilted his head, it wasn't in the direction he had been walking to before now. He looked to the left, his left arm outstretched in front of him, and took a step in that direction. The beeping grew a little louder. He took another just to make sure. As if proving his point, the beeping grew less faint, becoming a solid beat like an eight-gigabyte heart. Nodding to himself, he slowly walked ahead._

_ Within the space of ten minutes, the beep grew in noise and tempo, becoming some sort of dance as he picked up the pace. He was running through the thickets in no time, apologising along the way as he knocked over what looked like another metal empire scout made of toy bricks. He could have stopped but, after two days searching in this wilderness, there was no way he would want to stop. It was when the Toyagumon's yells stopped and grew faint that there was a break in the clearing. _

_Light burst through the trees where something had struck the Earth with such force that the trees themselves had bowed and snapped, sending them down in the same direction as if they were a landing-strip for a squadron of Fanbeemon._

_Placing the scanner on the left side of his vest, C-113 readied his rifle as he turned a corner towards the direction of the destruction, walking towards it until he found her._

_Yes, it was clear that he had found someone lying in the middle of the felled trees by themselves. A feminine looking figure lying face-up, sprawled on the forest floor. Their naked face marked with black streaks of soot along with their garments. If she was leaking data from her back, C-113 would have thought she was an Angewomon, who fell to the ground with her wings lost on the way down. However, based on the Brigade's archives, he'd never seen an Angewomon without her mask, let alone one with dark brown hair that short and curled at the ends. What drew his attention were the bags sprawled around her, either open or zipped tight and the jacket she wore; big shoulder pads, dark green and the same camouflage print as his helmet. He wondered if she was some sort of Champion level military personnel from this place; some new Digimon. If she wasn't, and if she did come from the sky, then could she be-?_

"_Hrmmm…"_

_C-113 lost his train of thought as the girl began to stir, alive and beginning to wake up from a sleep that he thought would be impossible considering her arrival. Curious, he poked his shoulder, starting a chain reaction as his skin and armour began to flicker, taking on the colour of the greenery. He stepped into the shadows, waiting for her to make the first move._

Sunlight. That was the first thing Shannon saw when she opened her eyes. Head facing the sky, she looked up, tilting her head slowly, all the way to the right. Her hand felt the ground underneath it, the familiar feel of grassy blades on her palm soothed her until she looked down at them. They were blue. Not green, greenish-blue or the blue you find in cheap cans of spray-paint. The grass was a deep, natural blue. Gasping, she bolted up, back aching as if she'd been lying down on a bed of rocks for hours. She looked around, realising she was in some sort of forest… of Palm trees… with big, wide orange leaves. She could make out apples on those Palms. "Am I… am I dreaming?" She got up, slowly, took her left hand into her right and pinched. Hard. The resulting prickle drew her breath, withdrawing the offending hand. She looked around, carefully as if she were standing in a field of land-mines until she found her schoolbags. Walking over, she opened the largest one containing her books, reached a hand inside and pulled out her phone. Crouching down, she unlocked it, breathing a sigh of relief until she noticed the two words on the top left-hand corner in blaring, mocking white text; No service. Letting the phone slip from her hands, she grasped at the roots of her hair as her breathing grew faster and more forced with every breath, heart drumming in her ears before her eyes widened. Code nets. That light…. Dwight! Quickly, she got up, picking her phone up in the process and walked around the clearing. Whether she couldn't see the felled trees pointing at her or she just didn't care, she cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone. "Dwight! Dwight! Can you hear me? Where are you!?" No response. After a few moments, her breathing slowed down, a little ragged but slower than it had been. She looked around at the world around her, this strange world and shouted up to the sky. "Someone! Help!"

There was a rustling sound which came from the clearing by some bushes that seemed to continue into a shadowy forest of trees. The bush seemed to bulge out and move, except it changed colours to match the background.

Shannon's neck spun around to the sound, noticing her the bush warped and changed. If any of the movies were to go by, something, or someone, was there, wrapped in some form of high-tech camouflage. Refusing to look away, she backed away to her other bag, reached in and pulled out her brush from before. Holding it close to her like it was a long sword, legs bent, she slowly advanced towards the bush. "Stay-stay back," she said, trying to make her voice loud and commanding. "I am armed. Reveal yourself. Now." She heard a sigh before the camouflaged figure moved around. It must have done something because a shape was forming. Something which made her jaw drop and stagger back a couple of steps.

Whatever it was, it stood on two legs, stood a foot shorter than her and had a big, black assault rifle pointed at her chest. Its face was like that of a dinosaur, maybe a raptor from the movies with large orange-amber eyes fixed on her own except that its scales appeared to be blue and, if she had to put a word to it, looked like if a pixelated character had come to life with squares of various shades of blue running down its face, neck and arms. As for the rest of it, upon its head sat a grey helmet, almost like the one Bill war from the photos of his last deployment and on its torso was an assault vest of some kind, also in a darker grey. The rest of the body, if this wasn't such a scary moment for her, looked like it was taken straight out of a bad Syfy movie with the name "Cyborg Dinosaurs from Outer Space". Its arms from the elbow down, hands, shins, feet and part of its tail were either fully metallic or part-way there. Its tail flicked this way and that as she stepped back. It then cocked its gun and opened its mouth.

"Unidentified life form, I ask you to put your weapon down." It spoke, sounding like a soldier from a Hollywood movie; a sound of authority laced with a nondescript American accent.

To say Shannon was surprised that this robotic dinosaur could talk was easily summed up with her brush dropping to the grassy floor. "You… you speak English… and you're talking to me."

The dinosaur soldier tilted its head, hairless brow furrowing as its eyes gave her a questioning look. It shook its head before looking back at her. "Good. You stand on Forest Sector territory and you don't look like you're from around this area. Identify yourself. What are you and where are you from?"

Knowing it was best to answer the questions of the man with the gun. Especially if that man was a dinosaur cyborg. "Okay then. I'll talk, sir." Gathering her nerves, she resumed talking although there was a shaky firmness to each word. "I am Shannon Jones. I was in Baltimore but… now I don't know where I am." Her breathing increased again as she looked at the barrel of the gun. "Please, I'm just… I just want to go home."

The dinosaur looked at her for a moment before reaching into his vest to pull out a new-looking, small, thick book. Using the nozzle of his rifle as a page turner, he flipped through. "No idea what a Baltimore is but there is no record of a ShannonJonesmon or a Baltimore." He stopped for a moment before slowly pointing a claw at her. "If those are two separate names, then are you really a human?"

Shannon slowly nodded, never taking her eyes off him. "Yes. I am a human. Please, tell me where we are. I just woke up and-."

The soldier dinosaur raised a palm, stopping Shannon before he slowly set his gun aside, filling the empty space in his hand with a bleeping black device. "I know. I was tasked by my superiors to track the energy readings of some weird things happening in this area of Router's forest. I didn't want to startle you, so I cloaked myself until you woke up." He pointed the scanner at her and, instantaneously, the scanner bleeped like it had just drunk twenty espressos. "If what you're saying is true, then I guess humans have come to the Digital World again."

"So, it's only you h-," Shannon stopped again at those last three words. "Wait. I'm sorry. Did you say Digital world and more humans?"

The Dinosaur looked like he was about to say something before shaking his head. "I suggest you sit down, ma'am. This could be a lot to take in."

Gingerly, Shannon sat back down on the grass, legs tucked underneath her with her toes facing towards the left. She took a few deep breaths before opening her eyes. "Ok. What is this Digital World and why can't I use this?" She pulled out her phone and showed it to him. "It's a mobile communicator of sorts. Usually, it can call anyone if I have a signal. I don't know whether it's the trees or something else, but, so far, I've got nothing."

Crouching down, the dino-soldier leant in to look at her phone; a plain white with a dark green, hard case. He sniffed but refrained from tapping his claws on the screen. He slowly sat down, careful not to sit on his tail. "Well, ma'am, to put it bluntly, you're not on your world anymore. I guess you've crossed between the rift to my world; the Digital World." He put his thick, metallic forearms and claws up like he was trying to reassure a small child. "Now, don't worry though. This may not be much coming from me, but humans have always returned to their own world after coming here. It's a rare occurrence but, every so often, a group of human children arrive here and coexist with us Digimon." He looked at her but, with her head bent to the ground, all he could go by was her left hand as it grasped her jacket tighter and tighter with every second that passed. "I'm sorry. I'm not known in my troop for having the best bedside manner."

Shannon looked up and saw the defeated look on his face before she shook her head. "No. It's just a lot to take in. I mean, if I'm not the only human here, maybe Dwight's here as well… all alone… in this forest." She looked at his claws. They looked like they'd encountered mud but, with a clean-up, they had this 'just out of the box' sheen to them. "If you don't mind me asking, officer, what is a Digimon? Are they all like you?"

He shook his head with a chuckle. "I wish. There are many, many species. We Digimon come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and materials. I mean, the word Digimon is a shortened version of Digital Monster." Thinking about it, he offered a clawed metallic hand to her. "My name's Commandramon C-113 of the D-Brigades 4th squadron, the Metal Empire's frontline force. However, since I'm the only one here, you have my permission to just call me Commandramon."

Slowly, Shannon reached out before grasping the mechanical hand. It felt cold at first. Sharp at points to. It had a hum to it like the fan of a laptop which heated up the longer she held it. Eventually, it was like she was holding a warm human hand, like Bill's. "It's nice to meet you, Commandramon." Even though she was frowning, she let out a chuckle. "If you hadn't found me, I think I'd be running around like a headless chicken, huh?"

After she let go, Commandramon looked like he was about to say something but fought the urge back down his throat. Instead, his lipless muzzle opened, curling into a smile. "Ma'am, it's my pleasure to help. I mean, a soldier who can't help a civilian isn't worth his salt. Alright. If you're not injured, I can see if we can locate any other humans. This Dwight person you've talked about might be one of them. Also, it's imperative that I get you to cover. This is not a Green Zone, Shannon Jones."

Shannon stood up, grabbing her schoolbag. "A green zone? You mean that we're on… are we on a battle field?"

Commandramon nodded, following suit before picking up Shannon's other bag. "We're not in immediate danger, ma'am. We just need to find a safe spot before-."

From the other side of the clearing, a small, stout creature with a purple, mushroom-like head ran out from the bushes before tumbling head over heels until it landed on its face. Grunting, it pulled itself off the floor and looked around, only to see as a brown, thick stinger struck them right between their eyes. The last things they experienced were Shannon's scream and the sight of their killer hovering out from the bushes before they arched their back, priming their stinger before putting another on in their head. They were gone, dissipating into thin air before they even hit the floor, leaving a purple striped egg behind.

In that moment, Shannon was frozen to the floor. Arms too scared to tremble, legs already given up the ghost. Whatever, or whoever, did this was ruthless and closing in on her.

"Jones. Jones! Get behind me," Commandramon shouted, picking up his rifle before aiming at the culprit.

What emerged from the trees, to Shannon, was a wasp the size of a car. A wasp with four purple wings, a shock of orange mane and gooey brown stinger growing from its abdomen. Picking up Commandramon's order, the creature's thin yellow neck snapped around, eyeless face spotting them before its segmented jaw split open, releasing an awful screeching noise.

"M16, Fire!"

The air was split again by the sounds of gunfire and ricochet as bullets sprayed the bug's head and legs, making it his before it rose up into the air, curled its abdomen close to itself and screeched. Like a rocket, the freshly grown stinger exploded from its abdomen, hurtling straight out at Commandramon.

Snapping back to reality, Shannon took dove forward at Commandramon, pushing him down in time before the stinger met his chest. Looking up, she saw the enraged insect slowly began flying towards them, a new stinger slowly emerging from the yellow and black abdomen like an ingrown hair but thicker and less friendly. With no time to think, she grabbed the hand of Commandramon, dragged him back to his feet and ran into the forest.

"Brown Stinger!"

Hearing the voice screech from behind her, she leant to the right, dodging another stinger, this time, striking through air where her thigh would have been. She looked back, glad that Commandramon was keeping up with her and that the Flymon's pace had slowed down, hissing each time its wings clipped branches and bark from the trees on either side, the hum of its wings faltering with every whack. It was only the occasional stinger colliding with a tree that kept her on her toes. Eventually, as the blood began pounding in her ears and her heart beat felt like a tin drum, she felt Commandramon yank her to the left. She was strong but Commandramon's strength dwarfed Shannon's in comparison as he sprinted towards a block of trees, dragging her along for the ride. Before she could say a word, they collided with the trees but, instead of landing on her back with a bruised nose, Shannon found herself and Commandramon in what can only be described as very tall, grey tube that extended up from the white floor to what looked like an unreachable ceiling. She looked around, mouth open before turning her focus towards Commandramon who took some purple glowing cubes from his assault vest before inserting them into the assault rifle's magazine. "What is this?"

Commandramon looked up at her before returning to his ammunition. "There's a bunch of hiding spots all over Router. Phone booths, trees, giant teacups; they're all designed as safe houses and every member of the D-Brigade knows every one of them. We should be safe for now."

Dropping her bag on the floor, Shannon sat down close to the wall. She placed a hand to it, feeling nothing as it flickered and pulsed around her hand. Pressing further, a hole opened, revealing the dark woods outside. When she withdrew her hand, the hole closed. She looked over at Commandramon who, by now, had finished loading the rifle and flipped a switch, taking what Shannon assumed was the safety off. She broke the silence. "What was that thing."

"Flymon. It's a virus type like me but, well, a bug." Commandramon looked through his vest pockets before pulling out a scope, attaching it to the firearm with an audible clunk. "I'm sorry you had to see it kill that Mushroomon. The Bug and Plant types in this area have been fighting over something for weeks now, or so the reports told me." He sighed, looking up at the ceiling before closing his eyes. "Thanks for pushing me out of the way. I can take the Kunemon and the Kodokugumon on my own but a Champion level Digimon like that… that's a two-man job. Fortunately, Flymon is more of a hoverer than a flyer. It's better that we hide for now."

Shannon looked at the wall again, trying to scratch at the hologram as she thought of her own world. The bugs that inhabited it. "Commandramon, do Bug Digimon have hives?"

He stopped moving before giving her a quick nod. "You reckon it's going to fall back and get reinforcements, right?"

"We did fire at it. If it saw us as a threat, it'll come back with allies that can and will search these woods." Slowly, she turned around to face him, eyes watering as her thoughts grew louder and louder. If the Flymon escaped, they were as good as dead. Commandramon wasn't enough to bring it down and, if Shannon wasn't there to pull him down back there, he wouldn't be here talking to her now. There was only one option. She shuddered as warm metal claws grabbed her hand.

"Ma'am don't cry. We'll get through this."

She shook her head. "It's not that." A few tears fell from her face as her voice grew squeakier. "I don't want to kill anything. I don't. But if we do nothing, Flymon and his friends will find us." She fell forward, arms reaching out to pull Commandramon into a hug. "I-it's not fair. I'm sorry you're in this mess with me. I'm so sorry."

Body rigid, Commandramon eventually loosened up before patting Shannon on the back. "It's fine, Jones. I understand. It's a hard choice to make. Just wish I had backup then this could be resolved quickly."

"… You do."

Commandramon pulled away from her, hairless brow raised. "Beg pardon?"

Calming down, Shannon wiped the tears from her eyes with a heavy hand. "I said you're not alone, Commandramon. I want to help you. My life's on the line as well, right?"

He looked at her for a moment before his face broke into a thin smile. "I guess I'd be leaving you defenceless if I got shot and became an egg on you, wouldn't I? All right then; we'll do this together. Besides, it's not really killing. Flymon will just turn into an egg and hatch a few days from now. It'll be like waking up from a dream." Freeing his left arm, he reached into his top left pocket and pulled out five grey spheres. On top of each sphere was a button.

Shannon looked at them. "Are those grenades?"

"Close, bombs." Commandramon pointed to the small red button on one of them. "See this? When you have the chance, press the button and throw, got it?"

Shannon nodded, taking the bombs from his claws one at a time before carefully placing them in her jacket. "What's the delay time?"

"Six seconds." He then looked at her. "How did you-?"

"My family's in the military. Some girls took part in kid's pageants. I grew up learning how to shoot and clean guns." She shrugged her shoulders before looking at the bag by Commandramon's side, spotting her hairspray. "Do you have a match?"

It had been half an hour since Flymon first attacked. Shannon could hear its buzz and see the curve of its abdomen as she hid in the bushes. She ducked down when she saw the bug turn to her direction. Spying through the thicket, she grasped the small, grey bomb in her hand and waited, the flying Digimon hovered closer and closer to the bush before stopping. Using her other hand, Shannon covered her mouth until the sound of the buzzing began to grow faint. Looking up, she saw Flymon hovering away, its orange mane looking like the world's biggest target right about now. Nodding to herself, she pressed down on the button and there was a humming sound. She winded her arm back and threw it with all her might at the bug's back and covered her ears.

Bam!

Startled, Flymon let out a piercing screech as its left arms and wings were engulfed in the blast, coming out scorched yet intact. Howling in pain, Flymon was too distracted by the flames to see the nozzle of an assault rifle emerge from the opposite side of the clearing before its burnt side was pelted by bullets, tearing through the damaged arms' exoskeleton. Yelping, the bug flew up and charged down towards the direction of the bullets, grabbing Commandramon by the chest and pinning him to the tree.

"Jones, now!"

Within seconds, Flymon screeched again as flames billowed on its abdomen, causing its grip to loosen on Commandramon. It turned around to see Shannon holding a golden can in both hands as orange flames blasted from it. Fighting through the flames, it threw an arm at her. Unable to dodge, Flymon sent her into a neighbouring tree, wide eyed and winded. The spray can now off.

"Jones!" Commandramon pulled out its rifle, bracing for the recoil as he shot through Flymon's damaged stinger.

All it did was make Flymon angry and it showed when it used its lower right pincer to stab at his chest. Not deep enough to gouge out his data but enough to make him grunt in pain as it jabbed repeatedly.

Coughing and sputtering, Shannon struggled to get up, pain searing through her back, she reached into her jacket pocket for another bomb, grasped within her fingers but Flymon was too close to the little soldier; he'd get hurt as well or worse. She just stood there, ball in hand as Commandramon kept getting jabbed, coughing up saliva and mucus with the last one. "Commandramon!"

Between punches, Commandramon turned his head to her, amber eyes glaring at her as he mouthed to her. "Run."

Shannon stepped back. The plan had failed. She was failing him, and he was telling her to run. 'I really am stupid,' she thought to herself. 'First Billy, now Commandramon? Why am I always letting people down? I don't want to die here. I want to go home.' She stared at Commandramon, his face scrunched up in agony as shot after shot landed. 'He's got a home to go to as well… No! I can't let him die. Not like this!' Grabbing the aerosol on the ground, she fished out another match from the box Commandramon gave her. She swiped it across the side, creating a spark, then a flame. Raising it in front of the can, Shannon ran behind Flymon and began spraying again. This time, she aimed for the wings.

In an instant, Flymon screeched as its wings began to ignite, losing its grip on Commandramon before landing on the ground on all six legs. Tucking its wings into its shell, the flames extinguished before, screeching, it turned back towards Shannon, mandibles dripping with saliva as it ran at her, screaming as she stood her ground.

"JONES!"

Shannon braced herself for the oncoming bug but, before she could close her eyes, there was a fain glow coming from her jacket. Inside one of the inner lining pockets, her phone flooded the compartment with a deep neon green light which bled through the material, blasted past Flymon and straight at Commandramon's head as he lay on the ground.

As the light engulfed the Digimon, Flymon proved that it could see as it recoiled from the light, shielding its eyeless face with blackened pincers.

Gasping, Commandramon felt the light seep through him to his very core. It felt soothing like a warm shower until its intensity grew, blasting him with pure energy. He felt strange, like the light was connecting him to the girl… to Shannon. Growling, he looked at Flymon with only one thought running through his head; save her.

_Sagittarius Connection Established. Welcome, Commandramon. Commencing Digivolution._

The light began to form into a solid sphere where, deep in the centre, Commandramon began to grow, reaching Shannon's height and beyond. His body becoming more cybernetic and his armour covering his eyes and head, save for his mouth. His rifle grew bright with the light and, as he picked it up with a much larger claw, like a katana being pulled from its sheath, it was replaced by a single blade before two more grew from his armour. "Commandramon digivolve to-!" he yelled before using the blade to slice through the sphere, emerging from it in a shower of green sparkles to Flymon's frustration and Shannon's wide-eyed gaze. "Sealsdramon!"

Quivering with rage, Flymon leapt into the air to bring the stinger on the opponent's head only for him to vanish. As it landed, Flymon was sent flying into a thick tree from a kick to the thorax, resulting in a satisfying crunch and another felled tree,

As for Shannon, words could not describe her surprise. Commandramon; the little reptilian soldier was now this tall, bulky lizard man clad from head to toe in grey limb enhancing metal, vanishing from one area to another, beating the living daylights out of the Digimon that had been causing them so much trouble. Noticing Flymon preparing to swing with its stinger, she tossed another bomb, the resulting explosion connecting with the bug's abdomen before its screams were cut short as Sealsdramon appeared on its back; left arm silencing its screams by grasping at Flymon's neck whilst he held his blade to its throat with his right. Knowing what was coming, Shannon closed her eyes.

"Death Behind."

There was a gooey kind of stabbing sound, a muted gurgle, then silence.

Slowly, Shannon opened her eyes. There, standing two heads taller than her, carrying a knife in one hand and a yellow and black striped egg the size of a Rugby ball in the other, was Sealsdramon. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Shannon ran to him. "Commandramon? You… you did it? How?"

Before opening his mouth, Sealsdramon put down the egg and lit up with a light that matched the one which hit him before. Quickly, he shrunk down to the size he was before. When it faded, he was back to being Commandramon; guns and all. "I… I did it. But how?"

Stunned, Shannon knelt in front of Commandramon and grabbed him by the sides with both hands. Despite his squirming, she checked him over. All his injuries were gone. "But… you were hurt. Then you looked like that and took him down. How?"

"I… I guess I digivolved." Grabbing Shannon's shoulders, the cybernetic dino suddenly began a fit of deep, ecstatic laughter. "I actually digivolved!"

She didn't understand why he was laughing but Shannon couldn't deny that it was infectious before she began laughing too. They were alive. She laughed like this for ten seconds straight with Commandramon before she investigated her pocket and pulled out her phone, still glowing with the light. She almost dropped the thing when she saw what it had become.

Whilst the phone was the same size it had been before, it was much thicker and black with a touchscreen which had an image of Commandramon's head alongside a symbol; a circle as green the shade of forest leaves in the summer with a white bow and quiver of arrows in the centre. Upon further inspection, the phone's case was gone but now two matching green lines wend down either side. It wasn't a brick, but the phone now had some mass.

If Shannon's eyes could get wider, she'd have no eyelids. "What… what happened to my phone."

Commandramon chuckled. "Remember what I said about humans living with Digimon? Well, in most tales, every human child was given a digivice as well as a partner Digimon." He tapped it with his claw. "According to legends, the bond between human and Digimon would cause the partner Digimon to advance to higher levels of power and change, or digivolve. Jones, if that really is a digivice, I think that's why I digivolved to Sealsdramon."

Shannon looked at him, then back at the phone, before looking back at Commandramon again. "You're… you're my partner? But why? You weren't given to me. You have a life."

Commandramon shrugged its shoulders before placing a claw on Shannon's hand. "You were pretty crazy risking your life for me there, ma'am. Maybe this thing sensed what you wanted to do and acted on it. It's kind of like a contract between us." He knelt on one knee in front of her. "From now on, you are my commanding officer, ma'am, and I will do everything in my power to keep you out of harm's way."

Shannon looked at him for a moment, frowning when she saw his big, toothy smile. She shook her head. "I'm not your commanding officer, Commandramon. If we've entered a contract together, doesn't that make us partners?"

Commandramon's smile faltered before realising what she meant. "So, we're equals?"

Shannon nodded. "We've been saving each other's lives since we met. I think we're more than partners, C-113. What I mean is, well, I want to be your friend."

Commandramon stood as he was for a moment, tears collecting in his eyes before he shook his head. He then rose up and bent his now raised right arm. "It would be an honour serving by your side as your friend, Jones."

Stunned, all Shannon could do was stand, smile and take Commandramon's free arm back in twine with her hand. "The feeling is mutual, Commandramon. However, if we're friends, maybe you could call me Shannon, if I have permission to speak freely."

It was odd seeing such a face laugh as much as Commandramon had been but, whilst he still looked fierce, it was clear he was a real sweetheart. Nodding, he smiled before taking out the scanner. As he did, the display on Shannon's digivice changed, showing four dots; three stationary and one moving. It was the same as the display on his scanner. "Alright, Shannon. It looks like there's four more readings. If they're like yours, I think we've found four more humans. I suggest we get your bags and go find them whilst it's daylight."

Nodding, Shannon pulled away from the blue soldier and looked at her display. "If Dwight's one of these, we need to find him and the others. Then we'll get you back to base, Commandramon. That's a promise." She looked at him and gave him a thumbs-up.

Commandramon looked up at her before repeating the gesture. "Of course, my friend."

**Well, dear readers, I hope you enjoyed that. It's glad to see Shannon has made a good friend in Commandramon. Hopefully, Dwight's not in danger… for now. Tune in next time for the next Chapter of Digimon Link D: Rewrite; Will you be my Partner?**


End file.
